The Imagined Nature of the Eighth Consciousness Cannot Change One's Own Mind

All dharmas are manifested by the eighth consciousness, and all are empty. Before the sixth and seventh consciousnesses realize this true principle, this is merely conjecture and hypothesis; when it has not been genuinely realized, the principle is the principle, you are you, emptiness is emptiness, and you are you—the two have nothing to do with each other. Conjectures and hypotheses before enlightenment can never make the mind empty. Only after enlightenment, through continuous and effective observation of the eighth consciousness and the world of the five aggregates, can the mind gradually become somewhat empty; after severing afflictions and attaining the bhūmis, the mind can become largely empty, and only after the eighth bhūmi can the vast majority be emptied. Only by truly realizing the eighth consciousness and gradually transforming the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti) toward the pure nature of the eighth consciousness—when the transformation of the basis succeeds—will the sixth and seventh consciousnesses transform consciousness into wisdom, becoming bhūmi bodhisattvas; when the transformation of the basis is fully accomplished, one becomes a Buddha. Therefore, the emptiness of the eighth consciousness cannot substitute for the emptiness of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses; the sixth and seventh consciousnesses must undergo cultivation and realization before they can recognize and realize emptiness, and only then can the mind be empty. Otherwise, the mouth is empty but the mind is not, and the demon of afflictions will not leave one's body.

Before the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have fully accomplished the transformation of the basis upon the eighth consciousness, the various pure natures possessed by the eighth consciousness do not mean that the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are the same. For example, the eighth consciousness never keeps precepts, but the sixth and seventh consciousnesses cannot refrain from keeping precepts the way the eighth consciousness does, because the eighth consciousness has no ignorance or afflictions, will never violate the precepts, and thus need not keep them; He also has no mind to violate anything. But the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are not like this—their afflictions and defilements are extremely heavy, and they frequently create unwholesome karma for their own selfish benefit. If they do not keep precepts, unwholesome karma will be endless, and unwholesome retribution will also be endless; then one cannot escape the evil destinies and the suffering of saṃsāra within the six realms, and cannot attain liberation.

Another example: the eighth consciousness does not cultivate meditative concentration, yet the sixth and seventh consciousnesses cannot likewise refrain from cultivating concentration as the eighth consciousness does. Because the eighth consciousness has never had a scattered mind, never grasps at any dharma, and possesses supreme wisdom, His mind is always in samādhi—He neither enters concentration nor exits concentration. The sixth and seventh consciousnesses, however, are scattered like monkeys, changing from thought to thought without any stability; the water of the mind is turbid, unable to see clearly the truth and reality, laden with ignorance and afflictions. Therefore they must cultivate meditative concentration in order to subdue their own minds, gain the ability to deliberate well, and seek true wisdom and liberation.

Another example: the eighth consciousness does not sever afflictions, but the sixth and seventh consciousnesses cannot likewise refrain from severing afflictions, because the eighth consciousness has no afflictions to sever, whereas the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have extremely many afflictions and ignorance; if these are not severed, one will sink into the ocean of saṃsāra and karma with no end in sight.

If you want to compare yourself with the eighth consciousness, then compare how the eighth consciousness remains pure amid the five desires and six sense objects of the world—the sixth and seventh consciousnesses must also be as pure as He is; how the eighth consciousness is without self and without selfishness—the sixth and seventh consciousnesses must also be as without self and without selfishness as He is; how the eighth consciousness tirelessly and ceaselessly serves sentient beings—the sixth and seventh consciousnesses must also learn to do so; and observe how the eighth consciousness is endowed with all wisdom—the sixth and seventh consciousnesses must learn this all the more. Only by comparing in this way can one attain buddhahood sooner.

However, if one has not truly realized the eighth consciousness, one cannot even make such comparisons with it; the imagined nature of the eighth consciousness cannot become one's true object of contemplation and cannot transform one's own mind. Therefore, one still needs to diligently cultivate the six pāramitās of the bodhisattva, hoping for true realization.